Last Update: 10 December 2001

IRON EAGLE here. We havent spoke before,
but i over the past week i have been bombarded with some info,
that i dont know wether will interest you or not.

BBC Worldwide last year comisioned filmakers
Paul Anderson and Jeremy Bolt [Soldier, Event Horizon] and their
Impact films to set about bringing a Doctor Who movie to fruition.
A script was nearly done and was said to be Matrix like in concept.
People like Denzel Washington and Samuel. L. Jackson were linked
with the role of the good Doctor. However the script strayed away
from the material it was based on. Why even call it Dr Who? Eventually
BBC Worldwide birked at the overflowing budget expectations and
pulled the plug. Dr Who The Movie was dead [again]

That is until Friday night. BBC Worldwide
have just struck up a deal with Disney's Buena Vista and Hollywoods
Mutual films to bring the Doctor back onto the big screen [remember
the two 1960's movies with Peter Cushing?]. No producer has of
yet being named. But i do work at the Beeb, and i can tell you
that this is THE biggy in the Dr Who Universe. Big name directors
have been mentioned. Like John Glen, Sidney.J.Furie and Russel
Mulcahey. The biggest of all though seems to be Michael Apted,
from The World is not Enough. And the beeb are apparently lining
up rat nosed Tom Selleck to play the good Doctor.

All this is true. And if you dont believe
me then what happens over the next few days will prove very interesting
indeedd.

IRON EAGLE

A further item then appeared:

Hi Harry, IRON EAGLE again.

I thought i would send you more info
on the Doctor Who project i mentioned to you at the weekend. Developements
have been moving fast over the last couple of days on the production
front. And aparently the beeb have found a producer and a director.
Philip Hinchcliffe has been drafted in to guide the movie in his
old role as producer. I say old because he produced the show for
two years in the seventies when Tom Baker was the Doctor. Producing
many classics like Genesis of The Daleks and Pyramids of Mars.
This bodes well for the movies future i think.

Now i mentioned this last time but Russel
Mulcahey is apparently 95% on to direct. And if he comes on board
this will put paid to the Tom Selleck sugestion, because Mulcahey
was involved with the movie in 1994 and insisted the actor who
plays the Doctor MUST be English. However he was the same director
who employed a French acteur to play a Scottish Highlander, so
his words cant be taken seriously.

Other actors have been mentioned AGAIN!
Sean Bean was being linked in The Daily Star, as were Lynus Roach
and former Doctor Who Jon Pertwee's son, Sean Pertwee. The most
popular choice with the beeb though is Terence Stamp {Superman
1 & 2, Phantom Menace}, and with Mulcahey and Stamp on board
this movie would work iam sure

IRON EAGLE

As well, the British newspaper The Sun
(13 June 2000) carried the following story (Sean's name not mentioned):

DR WHO could be making a comeback - with
Stephen Fry being considered for the lead role.
The BBC is discussing a film based on the cult TV series with
several production companies.
A spokesman for BBC Worldwide told me: "We are in talks with
various people about Dr Who but it is still very early days."

Neither a script nor director have yet
been chosen but the most important problem occupying the producers
is who will play the lead.

Comic Fry is high on the wish list because
producers say the doctor must be played by a British actor.

Internet rumours surrounding a proposed
small and big screen outing for classic sci-fi hero Dr Who have
gone into overdrive today following a scoop by Dark Horizons.
In a feature posted this morning, an anonymous source 'confirms'
that a film from BBC films is in the offing but insists that there
is no director or script yet.

British writer/director Paul Anderson
had originally been linked to the project, but the source alleges
that disagreements between Anderson - who wanted Laurence Fishburne
in the lead - and the BBC (who have their own preference for the
role) caused discussions to break down.

The feature suggests that the favoured
actor is already known in the halls of the BBC, and refuses to
name him, but did someone spill the beans already? In the latest
issue of Empire (July 2000), Stephen Fry responds to a question
from a reader about his possible appearance in a Dr Who radio
programe as follows: 'It is true. It's extraordinarily clever
of him to know that. I've been sworn to the utmost secrecy by
the BBC because there is such a huge contingency of Whovians,
I think they call them. So it is true, but I can't tell you what
part I play of what happens in it because I would be assassinated
if I did.'

While Fry doesn't reveal whether he plays
the Dr, Empire Online feels he would be perfect to take the role
of the doctor in the millennium. Could the BBC be thinking the
same thing?

Update
04 January 2001

The Mirror, a British tabloid, carried the
following story in its 04 January edition:

WHO'S BEAN
Sean is sci-fi Time Lord in £250m film.

Sean Bean will bring Dr Who into the
21st cventury by playing the time traveller in a £250 million
British film version of the classic TV series.

The 41 year-old - best known as the star
of Sharpe and Bravo Two Zero - becomes the tenth actor in the
title role and the highest paid, with a deal worth about £3million.
Actress Tara Fitzgerald, 33, plays the Time Lord's assistant.

Shooting begins at Pinewood Studios in
the spring. A source said, "The powers that be are delighted
to have got Bean. They wanted a British actor and a big name and
he's both. To have got Tara as well is the icing on the cake."

Dr Who is the first foray into big budget
films by the BBC which owns the rights. It ran on TV from 1963
to 1989, with film versions in 1965 and 1966. Another film with
Paul McGann flopped in 1996. But the source added: "There's
been massive interest recently in sci-fi scripts."

Basing its information on The Mirror's story,
GMTV (a UK breakfast television program) broadcast the Doctor
Who news to its morning viewers. The story was also picked up
by The Guardian, another British daily newspaper, which quoted
The Mirror as its source.

BBC Films has denied a story in The Mirror
that Sean Bean has been cast as Dr Who in a "£250m
production".

The Beeb told Teletext: "There's
absolutely no truth in the story whatsoever - not a grain."

The Mirror's claim that the time lord's
assistant will be played by Tara Fitzgerald is also denied by
BBC Films. The paper reports a source saying that Bean would be
paid £3m to play the part.

The denial was repeated in a slightly different
form on ITV's Teletext service:

NEWS BRIEFS

Claims that actor Sean Bean is to be the next Dr Who have been
rubbished. Bean, 41, is reported to have signed a £3m deal
to star in a £250m movie version of the cult sci-fi series.
Shooting of the BBC production is to begin at Pinewood in the
spring. But the BBC denied any plans to cast the Bravo Two Zero
star in the role. His agent added: "This is absolute news
to me. Sean's having a break."

Despite reports to the contrary, there
is still no official word as to who will inhabit the TARDIS in
the planned BBC film version of Doctor Who. The Mirror reported
that Sean Bean would be playing the Timelord, with Tara Fitzgerald
as his assistant, but a spokesperson for the BBC said "It's
not true at all" and denied that any kind of casting deal
had been made.

Empire Online was also told that the
movie is "Still very much in the planning stage, and there
isn't even a finished script yet". And the Mirror's claim
that the film's budget was in the region of £250 million
was also dismissed.

If you ask us, Bean would be far more
suited for the role of The Master - Doctor Who's nemesis. Our
favourite suggestions for potential Doctors include Stephen Fry,
Richard E. Grant, Alan Rickman, Eddie Izzard, and Ralph Fiennes.
Just don't let Robbie Williams anywhere near it.

LONDON -- BBC Films and a spokesman for
thesp Sean Bean have denied reports that the actor is to star
in a big-budget movie of sci-fi TV series "Doctor Who."

BBC Films chief David Thompson laughed
off the story in Wednesday's Daily Mirror, which claimed that
a £250 million ($375 million) movie was set to shoot at
Pinewood Studios this spring.

Pinewood also denied all knowledge of
the project, while an ICM representative of Bean said, "It's
news to us."

The BBC has been developing a movie version
of "Doctor Who" for several years, most recently with
the Mutual Film Co., but it is not thought that the project is
anywhere near fruition.

Update: 06 January 2001

The SFX
Network spoke exclusively to the BBC concerning the continuing
Doctor Who movie rumours:

Bean, Stallone reports slammed by Auntie

The BBC today launched an
attack on the Daily Mirror over the latest in a series of rumours
regarding a Doctor Who movie, calling them "nonsense".

Today's edition of The Mirror, and several
independent media organisations yesterday evening, reported that
Sean Bean had been cast as the Doctor in a £250M movie adaptation
of the classic SF show.

But a BBC spokeswoman today admitted
the corporation was unhappy with the rumourmongering, and that
the Mirror had been contacted regarding the false report. "The
story in the Mirror today is nonsense, there's absolutely no truth
in it whatsoever," she told SFX Network this morning.

"I've just spoken to the Mirror
about this and asked them if they even bother to check their stories.
They did not contact us to ask us about this yesterday."
She also hit out at today's Internet rumours. The Coming Attractions
website reports an anonymous correspondent claiming to work for
the Mutual Film Company previously linked with the Dr Who movie,
who claims a Charlie Higson penned script is set to be made with
action movie star Sylvester Stallone at the controls of the TARDIS.

"I'd take all these stories with
a big pinch of salt," she said. "The situation with
the movie is that it is not at the script stage yet. When casting
has taken place it will be announced, but at the moment there's
been nothing."

A LAVISH dramatisation of the early years
of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a feature-length updated version
of Dr Who will be among the highlights of the BBC's multi-million
bid to become a big player in the film industry, The Telegraph
can reveal....

David Thompson, the head of BBC films,
confirmed rumours that there would be a Dr Who film, with a budget
expected to be £40 million, and said that filming would
start next year. He said: "We are talking to a famous American
director and hope to announce his name in the next few months.
A British actor will definitely play the Doctor but we have not
decided who yet."

Update February 18, 2001

In January, 2001, Data Extract, the
magazine of the Dr Who Club of Australia, published the following
story:

SEAN BEAN MEETS DALEKS IN BIG BUDGET MOVIE RUMOURS

Earlier this month reports surfaced from an anonymous tipster
who claimed to be working for the Mutual Film Company implying
that Sylvester Stallone was to be involved an a possible Doctor
Who project in America; then, the Daily Mirror ran a feature article
along with doctored photos that actor Sean Bean and actress Tara
Fitzgerald had been signed to a BP250M Doctor Who movie to begin
filming in the spring. Since then several sources at the BBC and
Doctor Who Magazine have stated that these rumours are completely
false.

The situation remains unchanged - BBC Films is actively developing
a Doctor Who movie for future production, but it's a long way
off happening. Further, SFX Magazine featured a report on January
4 from their chat with the BBC not only debunking the reports,
but slamming the Mirror for its reporting - "The story in
the Mirror today is nonsense, there's absolutely no truth in it
whatsoever ... I'd take all these stories with a big pinch of
salt. The situation with the movie is that it is not at the script
stage yet. When casting has taken place it will be announced,
but at the moment there's been nothing."

Even earlier reports (in late November) held that the Daleks would
be involved in a planned film multimillion pound film, these were
also refuted. The BP250M figure is the total amount BBC Films
are planning to spend on ALL their films.

On January 26, 2001, IGN FilmForce carried
the following story:

Doctor Who Faces Ultimate Enemy: The
BBC
Doctor Who radio series.

It's been another rough week for fans
of Doctor Who. Buoyed by reports in the press, specifically by
UK newspaper the Telegraph, fans thought they were closer than
ever to seeing the adventures of the good Doctor on the big screen
for the first time since the '60s. Unfortunately, that story,
which reported an estimated $65 million budget and a "big
named U.S. director", has been refuted by representatives
for the BBC.

Quoted on the SFX Network website, a
representative from the BBC announced, "The Sunday Telegraph
got it wrong." She added that, as often stated, plans for
a movie version of the show were in development, but that there
had been no further progress with them.

A source at the BBC told IGN FilmForce
today that "the production is in a state of disarray. We
have missed a golden opportunity to have a marquee project available
during a time when the American market is the most accessible
because of the coming talent strikes. A Doctor Who will happen
some day, of that I have no doubt but that day will be later,
rather than sooner."

Adding further insult to injury, BBC
Radio 4 has decided not to go forward with a proposed new Who
series for radio. The pilot story, "Doctor Who: Death Comes
to Time," starred Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor (last
seen in the 1996 FOX Network TV movie) and Sophie Aldred, who
reprised her character of Ace from the television series. Despite
positive comments from the cast (including guest star Stephen
Fry, someone who has had his name mentioned as potential new Doctor
Who more than once), the BBC passed on the series. The pilot may
show up as a BBC Audio CD release in the future and it's expected
that there will be negotiations to try and produce the series
elsewhere.

On a positive note, Big Finish continues
to release their series of excellent Doctor Who audio adventures.
January brings the first new adventure to star Paul McGann, the
8th Doctor. First introduced in the 1996 telemovie, this is the
first Who production that McGann has been involved in since the
film. A total of four adventures featuring McGann will be released
this year. "Storm Warning," the first of McGann's Big
Finish productions, was released last week. The Big Finish productions
are available on compact disk and can be found at some on line
science fiction stores or ordered directly from Big Finish through
their website.

December 8, 2001

The latest rumour from Corona...

December 7, 2001... A major news story
concerning the much anguished Doctor Who movie just broke this
evening in England...on the telly, surprisingly enough. After
tonight's revelation, we know now the name of an actor, a director
and a writer who have been meeting in secret about the Doctor
Who movie project!

It all started when one of our readers
caught actor Sean Bean appearing on Friday night's Liquid News,
a late night talk show on BBC1. Bean was promoting his latest
film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and soon
the Liquid News host asked Bean what he has lined up next. Bean
admitted he had a few projects in the pipeline including one that
perked the interest of the audience. ""I've just had
a meeting with MGM/UA Executives in London over a movie role,
so its handy I'm in Britain," Bean told the Liquid News audience.

When the actor was asked what movie he
was talking about, he replied "Oooh, I dont really know if
I can reveal..." That set off the audience who started taunting
Bean to spill the goods: "O.K., O.K. It's Doctor Who."

A round of applause and cheers then rose
up from the Liquid News audience. "So your the new Doctor
Who then?" inquires the interviewer, to which Bean replied,
"Steady. No, the movie hasn't been greenlit or schedueled
yet, all I can say is I am in very early talks. But I have read
a good script by a French writer called Stephane Cabel and spoke
to a french director, Christophe Gans, who directed a marvellous
film called Brotherhood of the Wolf..." -- which garnished
more applause from the audience -- "...who are both involved
in the movie as writer and director. All I'll say is that it is
something I'd like to do, I've been looking for a role like Doctor
Who, or James Bond or Superman, one of those instantly recognizible
icons to do for sometime."

Our scooper was adamant that the interview
with Bean did happen tonight on Liquid News, but we've been unable
to confirm Bean's appearance on the show (probably because it's
after midnight of the next day in England). Did any of our other
U.K.-based readers catch the show and see Bean's announcement?
If so, write to us!

-------------

The video of the Friday night program of
Liquid News
(December 7th) was available as streaming video on the BBC website.
I watched it all the way through and Sean was not a guest
on the program. Furthermore, there was no studio audience.

Update 10 December
2001

An informed source closely associated with
Sean Bean said today: "Doctor Who is totally news to me."